imac g4 and internet

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Level 1

91 points

imac g4 and internet

I have an old, working iMac G4 that used to be connected wirelessly to the internet via apple airport. The airport hubs are now old and our wifi network is now run through a modern modem/router. The iMac is OS X.

Posted on Mar 2, 2021 8:25 AM

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Answer 1

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Jan Hedlund

Level 7

23,401 points

Mar 2, 2021 12:20 PM in response to jeb

Hi,

Another way could be to use an external Wi-Fi range extender with an Ethernet port (similar to the examples Edimax EW-7438RPn Mini and TP-Link RE200) operating in a wireless Ethernet bridge (or client/media adapter) mode. One would connect the device in question to the computer's Ethernet port. That should allow the iMac G4 to work with WPA2.

However, unless the iMac G4 is running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and TenFourFox, more or less all browsers will have difficulties with modern (secure) web pages, as Limnos also indicated.

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Answer 2

Limnos

Level 10

418,501 points

Mar 2, 2021 8:37 AM in response to jeb

Hello jeb,

And the question is? ;-)

If you're asking how to use it with the modern router you should be able to still use it with wi-fi, though probably not 5G. You may also need to be careful about which security protocols you use since a new router may have some that didn't exist back when your G4 was mode. I used to use my G4 with an Ethernet connection that I shared with other computers over an Ethernet hub.

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Answer 3

jeb Author

Level 1

91 points

Mar 2, 2021 9:37 AM in response to Limnos

Darn. Yes, the question. As you guessed, how do I connect the old iMac, wirelessly to our network on the new router? I can't do a direct ethernet connection as the router and the iMac are on different floors. The internet icon on the top menu shows that it is connected to the new network. However Safari sites do not load. When I am asked, what sort of connection I want, I used to choose "airport". But the network is no longer with airport. So I choose "other" but then it won't accept the WPA2 password that came with the new router.

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Answer 4

Limnos

Level 10

418,501 points

Mar 2, 2021 10:08 AM in response to jeb

Unfortunately my G4 died 3 years ago so I can't remember all the settings details from back then. I had a tower model with an third party wifi card I used for a short while 8 years ago. I remember it working but not the settings. I think you could try Airport. I believe that was just what Apple called WiFi back then.

As for Safari, I would think any version of that on a G4's OS would be truly ancient and might just be failing on its own accord. I used TenFourFox on my G4. I think they may even still be updating that.

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Answer 5

jeb Author

Level 1

91 points

Mar 12, 2021 7:59 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

I connected my very old G4 to my first floor router and the internet worked. That was a really great surprise. So Jan I think that I will take you up on your advice and buy an external Wi-Fi range extender with an Ethernet port. Thank you all for your suggestions. Amazingly, even Safari worked.

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Answer 6

jeb Author

Level 1

91 points

Mar 4, 2021 7:12 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thank you for responding. My old iMac G4 is running Tiger, 10.4.11. I have never used TenFourFox but I'll have to download it from the new computer and transfer it over to the old G4.

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